PA - Woman Charged For Sending Kids To School With Head Lice

[imthemom]

I got them from an airplane seat :sick:

Really, I was always taught they can't live very long off of a human. One pharmacist told my mom that the spray is a waste of money because they can't live off of humans.

 

[absinthe]

They must be able to live for a few minutes, at least..I doubt that many people contract lice by rubbing their heads together

 

[bracken123]

I would be curious to know what the school'd nit policy is.

I worked for a time in a local health department in a county with 2 schools. One school had a no-nit policy and the other did not. Meaning if no live bugs were seen, the child could return to school.
BTW, it is impossible to tell if the nit is alive or not.

At the health department we had repeat offenders - the same kids coming back month after month. Education would definately be helpful for some of these people. One parent was vision impared and she could not tell if the problem had been eradicated or not. We suggested she take the child out in her yard and check, the sunlight makes them easier to see.

The stigma attaches to these children is terrible, other children can be so cruel sometimes. Eventhough it is not their fault and anyone could catch them.

 

[JanPat]

We've dealt with lice several times, always after a kid's been away at camp. I swear by the Robi Comb. They're not cheap-about $40-but they're SO worth it. We easily spent more than that on the shampoos and treatments before discovering this gem!

It's a little battery-powered comb that literally zaps anything it comes in contact with. It has a buzz tone that stops when it zaps something so you can pull out the offending bug or nit before moving on. The comb teeth aren't quite as close as on a nit comb so it doesn't get every nit out, but it does kill them on the hair shaft so at least they can't hatch and continue the cycle. The kids even found it fun to sit there and listen to the buzz and would celebrate when you zapped one! The Robi has allowed us to beat 3 infestations without having to treat bedding/stuffed animals/upholstery, etc.

 

[panglossian]

I knew someone who's family was from the back hills of Kentucky and they used straight kerosene to kill lice. They said you'd know who had lice by the smell!